Anyone Had A Speeding Fine In Spain And Spends Time Out There?

Not sure mate

I got an enormous on the spot fine in France for hitting 150 on the wrong side of the road whilst overtaking. They were not happy at all and wouldn't release me until it was settled.

If I remember correctly the deal was either pay it or the bike would have been impounded and I would have had to wait for a court date..

 

If you know that the fine is genuine and you accept that you were speeding then you could pay the fine.

If the letter did not have to be signed for then there is no proof that you received it. Therefore if you were dragged to court next time you set foot in Spain your lawyer would be able to successfully argue that you did not know about the offence. Which is exactly why you wouldn't be dragged to court.

If you choose not to pay the fine then what info do the Spanish police have about you? Your name, address and bike registration. If you were in Spain in the future and got pulled over by the police they might link you with the previous fine and demand payment. However if you were now living in Spain and had a vehicle with a Spanish registration then they wouldn't link the two.

Remember that the information about speeding is held by the Police and not other authorities. So if you want to buy/rent a property in Spain nobody will be checking for your unpaid speeding fines before selling/renting you a property.

If you plan to work in Spain a criminal record check does not show speeding fines and anyway your Spanish address wouldn't link to your speeding fine only your British address does and a criminal record check in the UK wouldn't show an outstanding Spanish speeding fine because it's nothing to do with the UK police.

This is not based on personal knowledge of speeding in Spain, however I was caught speeding in France (more than twice the speed limit), paid a large fine (not the full amount because the cash point wouldn't let me have that much), was told it was ok, months later got letter saying that following a court hearing (that I didn't know about) I owed them more money. I didn't pay. I returned to France several times on the same bike without being pulled over by the cops. I have even rented a council flat in France and despite my outstanding fine I have yet to be dragged to prison.

 

How did they get your address details ? I thought Dvla do not share your details across the pond .

 

This is from a government website:

The European Car and Driver Licence Information System (EUCARIS) is an electronic system that facilitates the exchange of driver and vehicle information between participating Member States.

According to Wikipedia Spain uses a system called RESPER which is an EU wide network which links into EUCARIS. It went live in early 2013.

I am sure that for a small fee (£2.50 I think) the DVLA will provide a foreign country (and anyone else who needs it) with your details.

 

Yes the hire company passes it on and you get the fine.

Best to pay - at the very least you black listed from hire companies for not paying. Worst case they can increase the fine come for you legally. However many people don't pay...

I got a few in Italy and just paid - not worth the worry and potential consequences!

 

There's your issue

 

4 or 5 months after our first time in Cartagena, a charge of 50€ appeared on my credit card. About a month later I got a letter from the hire car company telling me that they had charged me a standard fee for giving the local plod my details. I never found out what I was suppsed to have done nor was it ever followed up by the Spansh plod. Been back a dozen times since and hired cars and have never been challenged. Still reckon it was a scam oerated by the car hire company. Andy

 

In which case you will probably find on your credit card statement a charge from the hire company for providing your details to the Spanish authorities. It'll probably be about £40. If you read the hire agreement it will be detailed in there.

The issue with not paying the fine is that because it was a hire car the Spanish authorities can recover the fine directly from the hire company who will just take the money from your credit card. So it's best to pay the €250 early bird special fine.

 

ignore it mate. i ignored same size fine from Italy (hire car as well) , they kept on sending letters for 3 years , some of the even recorded delivery but got bored and gone away eventually

 

nice mate.
i spent 1 year in Spain (Bilbao) and miss my old life there.

 

Been flashed many times in Fr and Sp but never heard anything about it , also been given on the spot and told the points only count in Sp

 

I've hired on of those Polos in Spain and been hugely impressed at their turn of speed and especially their acceleration in the midrange, however, I was on the bike when I got fined on the spot by 2 Guardia Civil in a big unmarked navy blue Renault. A pal of mine and I had crossed a solid white line as we overtook some dawdlers and the bobbies had been behind us. 95 Euros each, we shrugged our shoulders and took it on the chin, chatted a while, had a laugh with them, the older, fiercer one accepted a Ducados from my pal, said 'I haven't had one of those for years' turned to his oppo and came out with 'These two are alright, tear up one of those tickets, Gonzalo'!

My pal's always referred to this as 'The incident of the 95 Euro ciggie'

 

Yep, that's exactly what happened. Been there done that. I got zapped twice in half an hour near Malaga. The hire car company snaffled 50 euros off my credit card for 'admin' purposes and I had a separate 400 euro fine from the Spanish plod. I did the decent thing and gave the fine bit a fucking good ignoring. But if you're moving out there.... You probably did right to cough up.

 

I suspect that if the hire company didn't reveal who the car was hired to they would be expected to pay the fine. However as the hire company makes money out of giving the authorities your details why wouldn't they tell them who you are.

 

Did the hire company charge you for passing your info on?